Michael Friendly and Howard Wainer clearly love graphs. But A History of Data Visualization and Graphic Communication isn’t just about graphs — it’s about the stories behind them: the context, the people, the new measurements that made them necessary, and the discoveries they enabled. The authors don’t just show us the end result; they take us through the process that led there, often in a delightful amount of detail.

The structure of the book balances chronology with theme. This keeps the feeling of historical evolution intact, without falling into the trap of a dry timeline. We jump from 17th-century innovators to 20th-century pioneers, always with a clear narrative thread.

What stood out to me most was the variety of examples. While the book is clearly indebted to Edward Tufte’s work, it doesn’t recycle his canon. I encountered many visualizations I hadn’t seen before, and even familiar ones were presented with fresh insight. The ideas on how new data, collected with new measurement techniques, often prompt entirely new kinds of charts were particularly eye-opening for me. It’s a reminder that visualization doesn’t just explain data — it also adapts to it.

That idea was so powerful to me that I used it as one of the foundations for my keynote lecture, Graphs can save the world! This book helped me think more deeply about why visualizations matter — not just aesthetically or functionally, but historically and socially.

That said, not every chapter lands equally well. Some sections feel a bit scattered or lightweight, especially when they only briefly touch on developments that deserve more space. The final chapter, Graphs as Poetry, takes a more philosophical turn, but I wasn’t entirely sure what the authors were trying to argue there.

Also worth noting: while the book is visually rich, it’s a shame that most of it is printed in black and white. Some of the visual clarity and impact is lost as a result. And while the authors occasionally offer “reworked” versions of historical charts to show how they could be improved, these redesigns don’t always convince — sometimes the original speaks more eloquently in its own language.

Despite those minor critiques, this is a generous, well-researched, and deeply informative book. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in the intersection of data, history, and design. It’s a reminder that charts are tools, but also more than tools — they are artifacts of human thought, and sometimes, even acts of discovery.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read this review, as well as many others, in our complete overview of data visualization books (work in progress).